German Beyond the Classroom: From Local Knowledge to Critical Language Awareness

The article details an “Ausflug” to a Mt. Angel, OR as a model for incorporating engaged learning into the German classroom as a way of enhancing not only students’ language acquisition but also to promote social justice learning. I offer both theoretical and practical considerations, informed by scholarship on teaching culture in the German classroom, critical language pedagogy, as well as recent changes in the institutional context of the German program at my home institution. In doing so, this work contributes to ongoing conversations about teaching culture in the foreign language classroom, and offers suggestions for incorporating high-impact practices into German classes as a way of increasing student engagement with learning material. Although the “Ausflug” was developed for post-secondary students of German, it nevertheless provides a model that can be of use to German teachers at all levels.